The Promise of Rain
by JAM3.14
Summary: What if the Master had killed the Doctor in "The Sound of Drums." What would have happened to the world? And what would happen to a person he left behind over fifty years ago? (Takes place at the end of Season 3. Martha and Captain Jack can be assumed to be dead or captured.)


**A/N: This is just a one-shot that I wrote. I've been waiting for the new season of Doctor Who to come out, and I wrote this to pass the time. It's basically about what would happen if the Master had killed the Doctor in "The Sound of Drums" (season 3 finale episode). It came out a little angsty but I like it, so here it is. The characters from Doctor Who do not belong to me. Reviews are greatly appreciated.**

When the monsters first came to Earth she hadn't wanted to believe it. When they kept coming and coming, and when it never ended — that was when she knew for sure. She hadn't believed — hadn't even considered — that the broadcast showing the Prime Minister killing him was true. She'd thought it was a hoax, or a trick, or _something_. She'd seen him thwart death enough times to know that it wasn't impossible.

But when the skies had ripped open and the spheres had descended and started killing people — _murdering_ them in the streets — yet still no one came to set things right, that was when she began to wonder if the broadcast had been real.

Some people might have wondered if she feared for her life after what the Prime Minister had done to him. She didn't. Not beyond what anyone else was afraid of. The Prime Minister didn't know about _her_ of course. No one did, not since David had died. He'd taken her secret with him.

It was difficult to keep it that way, of course. She couldn't trust anyone, not after what she'd heard went on in Torchwood. She had to keep moving from place to place, to keep people from noticing her age. So people wouldn't notice that she stayed goddamn sixteen.

She had pretended for a while. Pretended to age. For David. She had put on that horrible latex skin over her face for years, doing just that. Pretending. But that's all it had been. Just a special effect to keep people from noticing. To keep David from feeling old. After David died, she just didn't see the point.

She had been holed up in this safe-house for months now. It was just her and a family that had lived across the street from her. There used to be others, but they had all been killed or captured. They were lucky that the spheres hadn't found their hiding spot yet. Lucky.

Lucky. That was the one thing she _didn't_ feel. She wanted out. She wanted to be free. But she knew it wouldn't really help ease the claustrophobia. After all, it wasn't the safe-house that really confined her, though it was doing its fair share. It was the whole stinking planet. She had been trapped here for almost fifty years. She wanted out. She wanted to be free again.

She had been free once. She had had adventures. But she had thrown them all away for a _man_. And he had let her. She understood his sentiment of course. He had taken her away with him to give her a fresh start. And that's what he'd given her. But her fresh start had twisted itself into a prison. And he had left her here. Left her and went right back to having his stupid little adventures. Like she had never been there at all. And now he was dead. Almost served him right.

She shook her head. She was going crazy here. She wanted to go outside, to feel raindrops spatter on her face again. Even more, she wanted to feel the glow of another star's light on her face, walk on a surface that didn't accelerate her downwards at the same damn 9.8 meters per second squared. But she couldn't do that. She couldn't do that without transportation. And the transportation had left her long ago. The way out of here left her when _he_ did.

The raindrops would do for now. She started to walk towards the door. It was suicidal. She knew. The spheres would be on her in an instant. But it would be worth it to be free…

No. She glanced behind her. The Landleys. The young couple with twins and nowhere else to hide. They were sleeping now. If she gave herself up, she would lead the spheres right to their safe-house. The spheres would find them. And they would die. She couldn't let that happen. She chuckled softly to herself. He was still influencing her decisions, even when he had been dead for months. _Guess you rubbed off on me more than I thought, old man._

But there was another reason. If she gave herself up, his sacrifice would be in vain. She could resent him all she liked, but family was still family. Her gaze fell upon the gun by the door and her eyes hardened. A slight smile reached her lips. _Family protects each other._ She wouldn't _let_ her grandfather's sacrifice be for nothing.

Her years of hiding would finally pay off. After all, she was Susan Foreman, the girl who didn't exist. She had an advantage. It was a small one, but it would do nonetheless. And if she was clever enough — and she _was_ clever enough — the Prime Minister would never see her coming. She was the one person he could never expect. She was going to find that bastard and put a bullet in his head as many times as it took to make it stick. Or she would die trying. She shook her head. She would die as many times as it took, but that sorry excuse for a Time Lord was coming with her. And his death would stick. She'd make sure of it.

She looked back at the Landleys one last time before she opened the door. Then she left. She wouldn't be coming back.

Back home, before she had run away with him, her grandfather had taught her how to go unseen. How to keep to the shadows and go unnoticed. At the time, she hadn't thought she'd ever use it. She had been wrong. Even beyond the grave, he was still saving her life.

A clap of thunder almost startled her out of her hiding place. She still wanted to feel the raindrops patter down her face. But she shook herself and disappeared back into the murky gloom. She had a job to do.

The rain would still be there tomorrow.

 **A/N: I know that in some media Susan starts a family with David, but I decided against including that here because I thought it would make the plot too convoluted.  
**


End file.
